Federica Brignone won the last Super-G before the Finals in Saalbach. The 33-year-old set the best time in a challenging course due to the fog -the race had to be interrupted several times, once for more than half an hour- to take the victory with a lead of 0.61 seconds over Lara Gut-Behrami. Ester Ledecka rounded out the podium 0.79 seconds behind Brignone.
The Italian skier has celebrated her fourth victory of the season. Brignone achieved 10 of her 25 Alpine Ski World Cup victories in Super-G. Also, 19 of her 66 podiums came in the same discipline.
Brignone became the first female skier representing Italy to achieve 25 World Cup victories. The only Italian to have won more than 25 World Cup events is ski legend Alberto Tomba (50).
She is now in sixth place on the list of women's Super-G World Cup winners tied with Michaela Dorfmeister.
"For sure it's a weird race, it was a hard day for all the girls. It wasn't easy, a lot of fog. I didn't see the ground, but I had the course in my head and tried to get to the finish as fast as possible, full attack, just go for it. But I wouldn’t have thought that the best time would last. In any case, I had no problem with the delays," Brignone said.
Lara Gut-Behrami with her second position made another step forward in her fight for the Overall and Super-G Crystal Globes. The skier from Ticino has finished on the podium in six of the eight Super-G events this season including three victories (she DNF in Val d'Isère and finished in 6th place in Crans Montana).
Federica Brignone after today's win is now in second place in the overall standings 326 points behind Lara Gut-Behrami. Mikaela Shiffrin is in third position 385 points behind the Swiss skier.
In the Super-G standings, Lara Gut-Behrami (540 points) leads Cornelia Hütter (471) by 69 points with 100 points up for grabs in the remaining event. Federica Brignone is third with 466 points, 74 points behind.
"It’s a special race. At the limit. I didn't see too much, but because the pace was so slow it wasn't dangerous. I didn't feel well, but I reached the finish line healthy. I'm happy about the way I skied. In these conditions, with the soft snow, I'm not usually the best skier in those conditions. I don’t envy the FIS, which has to decide whether and when the race will continue," Gut-Behrami said.
"At the finish line, I'm already looking at the results, of course. But the most important thing is that safety is guaranteed for everyone. I ski consistently and quickly, that's important. Now I hope to be able to show good turns in the Giant Slalom in Are," she added.
Ester Ledecka, with bib number 19, surprisingly stormed onto the podium and pushed the Norwegian Kaja Vickhoff Lie down. The triple Olympic champion in Alpine skiing and snowboarding achieved today her first podium of the season in the World Cup. The last time the Czech finished on the podium was in Crans Montana in February 2022 when she finished second in the Downhill. It's her 9th podium, her second one in the Super-G.
"I apologize to all Norwegians, I'm sorry for that. It's a little bit difficult because you have to always warm up, then you cool down, then you wait, then you have to warm up again because it's starting again, then you cool down. So I had a lot of workout today at the top," Ledecka said.
Comments